Tru Washington made three free throws with 3.7 seconds left as the Miami Hurricanes defeated the host North Carolina State Wolfpack 77-76 in an Atlantic Coast Conference matchup in Raleigh, N.C., on Saturday afternoon.
Miami, which finished game on an 8-0 run, outscored North Carolina State in the paint, 56-32. The Hurricanes also had a 20-8 edge on offensive rebounds.
Washington, who had missed Miami’s three previous games due to personal reasons, finished with 13 points of the bench.
Miami (20-5, 9-3) got a game-high 26 points and six rebounds from Malik Reneau. The Hurricanes, who. have won three straight games, also got 17 points and nine rebounds from Shelton Henderson and 14 points, five rebounds and four assists from Tre Donaldson.
North Carolina State (18-8, 9-4) had. a chance to win at the buzzer but freshman Matt Able missed a running 3-pointer. Able finished with a career-high 17 points off the bench, but scored just two in the second half.
The Wolfpack also got 17 points and nine rebounds from Ven-Allen Lubin, and 14 points — all in the second half — from Paul McNeil Jr.
North Carolina State has lost two straight games.
The first half, which featured eight ties and 10 lead changes, ended with North Carolina State on top, 42-37. The Wolfpack got a huge first-half lift from Able, who had 15 points on 5-for-6 shooting, including 3-for-3 on 3-pointers. As a team, North Carolina State was 5-for-13 on 3-pointers as compared to 1-for-7 by the Hurricanes in the half.
With. 5:43 left in the second half, Donaldson made two technical free throws to give Miami a 69-65 lead. The technical was charged to North Carolina State’s Darrion Williams for kicking Donaldson in a loose-ball scrum.
However, following the free throws, North Carolina State went on an 11-0 run.
Miami then went on its 8-0 run that ended after Washington got fouled on a 3-point try with 3.7 seconds left. Williams was charged with the foul as he tried to close out Washington on a corner 3-pointer that turned out to be the biggest play of the game.
–Field Level Media
